| Course | ADC 515 Psychology of Addiction |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | Theory and evidence paper with case |
| Length | About 1,060 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ADC 515 Module 6
The Brakes and the Driver: Self-Control, Executive Function and Addiction
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
ADC 515: Psychology of Addiction
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
The Brakes and the Driver: Self-Control, Executive Function and Addiction
As part of a research collaboration with a local university, clients at the residential program near Grand Rapids complete a brief battery of cognitive tests. Denise scored below average on a working memory task and high on a questionnaire measure of impulsivity. She asked whether drinking had damaged her brain or whether she had "always been like this." Denise and her treatment setting exist only in this course. Her question opens the research on how self-control and executive function figure in addiction.
Self-Control and Executive Functions
Self-control is the ability to override impulses in favor of longer-term goals. It draws on executive functions, the mental processes that manage attention and behavior.
| Executive function | What it does | Relevance to addiction |
|---|---|---|
| Inhibition | Stops an automatic response | Resisting the move toward a drink when a cue appears |
| Working memory | Holds goals and information in mind | Keeping the goal of sobriety active in a tempting moment |
| Planning | Organizes steps toward a goal | Preparing for high-risk situations in advance |
| Delay of gratification | Chooses larger later rewards over smaller immediate ones | Valuing health and family over the relief of a drink |
Impulsivity Before Drug Use
Verdejo-García et al. (2008) reviewed whether impulsivity is a cause or a consequence of substance use disorders. Because drugs can damage the brain systems underlying self-control, impulsivity in people with addictions might simply result from use. To separate the two, the authors reviewed three kinds of evidence: studies of children and adolescents at high risk, such as those with a family history, before substantial drug use; studies of problem gamblers, who show addictive behavior without drug effects on the brain; and genetic association studies. Each line of evidence suggested that impulsivity, particularly difficulties with inhibition and preference for immediate rewards, is present before drug use and raises vulnerability. They concluded that impulsivity is both a vulnerability marker and, in some respects, worsened by drug use.
Self-Control as a Limited Resource
Muraven and Baumeister (2000) proposed that self-control draws on a limited resource, like a muscle that tires with use. In experiments, people who had exerted self-control on one task often showed poorer self-control on a following task, a pattern they called ego depletion. The model suggested that people who spend their control resources resisting one temptation, or coping with stress, are more vulnerable to the next, which fits the observation that relapse often follows demanding days. The authors also suggested that, like a muscle, self-control might strengthen with regular exercise.
Later research complicated this picture. Large, preregistered replication efforts found the depletion effect much smaller than originally reported, possibly near zero in some designs, and alternative explanations emphasizing motivation and attention gained ground. The practical observation that people struggle more with control when tired and stressed remains well supported, but the specific idea of a depletable resource is contested.
Training Working Memory
Houben et al. (2011) tested whether training working memory could reduce drinking. Problem drinkers completed a series of computerized working memory training sessions or a control version with no increasing difficulty. Training improved working memory and was followed by reduced alcohol use over the following month. The reduction was strongest among drinkers with strong automatic preferences for alcohol, consistent with the dual-process idea that better control matters most when impulses are strong. The study was small and short-term, and later research on executive function training has produced mixed results, but it showed that control capacities may be strengthened in ways that affect drinking.
Recovery of Function
Some cognitive difficulties seen early in abstinence improve over time. Clinicians commonly see memory, attention and planning improve over weeks to months without drinking, though recovery varies from person to person and some difficulties may persist after long, heavy use. This matters for treatment planning: the weeks just after detoxification, when control is weakest, are also when cues and stress are often highest, which is why structure and support are most important then.
Self-Control in Context
Self-control is not exercised in a vacuum. Sleep, nutrition, stress, social support and the presence or absence of cues all affect how much control a person needs and how much they can muster. Treatment that attends only to strengthening a person's control, without changing their circumstances, asks them to win the same struggle every evening. Changing circumstances reduces how often the struggle occurs.
Planning With Denise
Denise's counselor explained that her test results likely reflected both long-standing tendencies and effects of drinking, and that some cognitive function often recovers over months of abstinence. Rather than relying on willpower that her tests suggested was under strain, the plan reduced demands on control: removing alcohol from her home, avoiding high-risk routes and arranging evenings with structure. It also supported control directly: written if-then plans that do not depend on holding goals in mind under stress, regular sleep and meals and, as part of the program's pilot, working memory exercises alongside approach-avoidance training. Her tests will be repeated before discharge to track change, and her counselor will compare the results with what Denise herself notices about her concentration, patience and ability to stick with plans during her stay.
Sleep and Control
Sleep deserves particular mention. Many people in early recovery sleep poorly, and short or disrupted sleep reliably impairs attention and self-control the next day. For Denise, who reported waking several times each night, improving sleep through a regular schedule and avoiding caffeine late in the day was a practical way to support the control processes her tests showed were under strain.
What the Tests Can and Cannot Say
Denise's scores describe her performance on particular tasks on particular days. They do not measure her character or predict her future with any precision, and they may improve as her abstinence continues. Her counselor presented them as information for planning, not as a verdict, and invited Denise to notice in her own life when her control seemed strongest and weakest.
Conclusion
Self-control depends on executive functions such as inhibition and working memory. Verdejo-García and colleagues show that impulsivity can precede drug use as a vulnerability, Muraven and Baumeister's limited-resource model captures the familiar experience of control weakening under strain though its specific claims are contested and Houben and colleagues show that training working memory can reduce drinking. For Denise, the evidence supports needing control less often while building it where possible.
References
Houben, K., Wiers, R. W., & Jansen, A. (2011). Getting a grip on drinking behavior: Training working memory to reduce alcohol abuse. Psychological Science, 22(7), 968-975. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611412392
Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 247-259. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.2.247
Verdejo-García, A., Lawrence, A. J., & Clark, L. (2008). Impulsivity as a vulnerability marker for substance-use disorders: Review of findings from high-risk research, problem gamblers and genetic association studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 32(4), 777-810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2007.11.003
Reading the ADC 515 Module 6 assignment instructions
The sixth module of ADC 515 usually asks for a paper on self-control and executive function in addiction. Base your paper on the Module 6 instructions in your Aspen course; the client here is invented. Define self-control and the executive functions involved, using examples from a client's day. Review evidence on impulsivity as cause and consequence of substance use. Present at least one theory of how self-control works, with criticism. Report evidence on training executive functions. Apply the findings to a client, with practical steps. Cite each study in APA 7, and note where findings have been contested. Separate what a client can change, such as routines, from what the evidence says about capacities that may recover only slowly.
How the ADC 515 Module 6 example is put together
Denise, the composite client, scores low on a working memory task and high on a questionnaire measure of impulsivity during treatment. Verdejo-García, Lawrence and Clark's Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews article shows impulsivity preceding drug use in high-risk groups. Muraven and Baumeister's article proposes self-control as a depletable resource, and the paper notes the later replication failures that weakened that claim. Houben, Wiers and Jansen's Psychological Science trial shows working memory training reducing alcohol use. A four-row table defines inhibition, working memory, planning and delay of gratification. Denise's plan reduces demands on control and adds structured practice. Her tests will be repeated before discharge to see whether function recovers.
Where the marks sit in the ADC 515 Module 6 rubric
Self-control papers earn credit for precise definitions, evidence on direction of cause and honest treatment of contested theories. This example defines executive functions and connects each to addiction. It reports evidence that impulsivity precedes use, using studies of high-risk children and of gamblers that avoid the effects of drugs themselves. The limited-resource theory is presented alongside its replication problems, which shows awareness of the field. The training trial is reported with its effect and its limits. The plan uses the evidence practically, reducing demands on control where possible. Answering the client's question about cause, both, is honest and avoids blame, and the test results are framed as information rather than verdicts.
ADC 515 Module 6 help from the desk
Self-control papers often treat it as a single trait people have or lack. Break it into executive functions. Address cause and effect: impulsivity can be both a risk factor and a result of drug use. Report contested theories honestly; the limited-resource idea is well known but has replicated poorly. Report training studies with their limits. Apply findings in ways that reduce reliance on willpower, such as removing cues and building routines, since the most reliable way to exercise control is to need it less often. Reassure clients that some cognitive function often improves with sustained abstinence, and present test results as information for planning rather than as labels.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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ADC 515 Module 6 questions, answered
What does ADC 515 Module 6 usually ask for?
Aspen's ADC 515 covers self-control and executive function in this module, so a paper on impulsivity, control theories and training is typical. Check your Module 6 prompt.
Does impulsivity cause addiction or result from it?
Both. Verdejo-García, Lawrence and Clark reviewed evidence that impulsivity predates drug use in high-risk groups, and drug use can also worsen it.
Is self-control a limited resource?
Muraven and Baumeister proposed that it is, but later large replication efforts found the depletion effect much weaker than originally reported.
Where can I find a free ADC 515 Module 6 sample paper?
The full paper is on this page: executive functions defined, impulsivity as vulnerability, the depletion debate and a working memory training trial.
Can working memory training reduce drinking?
Houben, Wiers and Jansen found that problem drinkers who trained working memory reduced alcohol use, especially those with strong automatic preferences for alcohol.